Washing machines



Jan. 25, 1966 l. JACOBS 3,230,748

WASHING MACHINES Filed Sept. 18, 1963 F l ,O/ ff) Cf) a g 2 F l -A-1 m 3L .Il

.al O (9)/ ff) INVENTOR /V//VG (//4 6056 BY MMJ/ ATTORNEY Y UnitedStates Patent Odce 3,236,748 Patented Jan, 25, 1966 3,236,748 WASIHNGMACEHNES Irving Jacobs, Hendon, London, Engiand, assigne-r to TheWashing Machine Research and Deveiopment Company Limited Filed Sept. 18,1%3, Ser. No. 309,830 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May'7, 1963, 18,068/ 63 1 Claim. (Cl. 6ft-140) The invention relates todomestic washing machines of the kind in which an inner perforated drumis mounted horizontally for rotation in an outer water-tight drum whichcarries electrical means for rotating the inner drum and which outerdrum is suspended non-rotatably from a frame.

The invention has among its objects to provide a drum which will rotateat high speeds without the transmission of excessive vibration to thesupporting frame.

According to the invention the outer drum is supported at each endwithin the casing by means of support springs formed as coiled springsheld at the upper ends in inwardly extending brackets mounted on thechassis or casing and with the lower ends connected, as by being hooked,into brackets secured to the end faces of the nonrotatable drum.

According to the invention furthermore, the springs are set at aninclination with the upper ends further apart than the lower ends.Furthermore the springs are mounted in position below the transverseaxis of the drum in 'such manner that a horizontal plane extendingthrough the points Where the springs are linked to the end face of thedrum passes substantially through or near the principal axis of thesystem comprising the drum and the driving motors.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional side elevation of an automatic washing machineaccording to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the construction shown in FIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawings, is an inner rotatable drum mounted on shafts301; in an outer non-rotatable drum 30C.

An opening 30e in the inner drum 30 can be brought into coincidence withan opening 30d in the outer drum 30e for the purpose of charging theinner drum with clothes to be Washed and for removing the clothes fromthe drum after the washing operation is completed.

A lid 30a hingedly mounted on the inner drum 30 is automaticallyoperable to close the drum when the drum starts to rotate.

A shaft 3012 extends through the outer drum 30e and carries a pulley 32connected by a belt to a motor drive system 34. The system 34 is carriedby a support bracket 35 under the drum 30C. A support frame 31 carriesinwardly directed brackets 36 which are connected by springs 38 to thebrackets 37 secured to the end faces of the outer drum 30C.

In operation the articles to be Washed are loaded into the inner drumthrough the opening Stiti with detergent and water.

When the inner drum 30 is rotated at high speed with a load in the drumwhich is unevenly distributed, the drum assembly tends to oscillateabout the principal axis. Pro- Cil vided the springs 38 restraining theouter drum 30C are linked to the drum relatively closely together only asmall restoring torque is exerted on the outer drum 3de hence thetransmission of vibration from the drum to the supporting frame islimited.

By securing the ends of the springs 38 linked to the support frame 31further apart than the ends secured to the drum 30C, the drum assemblyis stabilised in the support frame 31. The distance apart of the topends of each pair of springs 3S relative to the bottom ends determinesthe amount of vibration transmitted to the casing due to lateral (thatis to say back and forth) movement of the drum 36C.

The springs at each end are also held apart at the position ofattachment to the casing at a distance greater than the length of thedrum 30e. The angle of the springs viewed from the front elevation ofthe machine provides a component of force stabilising the drum in thecasing with respect to end to end movement.

It will be understood that a similar pulley system may be provided atthe opposite end of the drum.

What is claimed is:

A washing machine, comprising in combination: a support frame; ahorizontal outer watertight drum; an inner perforated drum, said innerdrum being horizontally disposed and supported at both its ends on saidouter drum for rotation with respect to said outer drum; electricaldrive means mounted on the lower side of said outer drum and meansconnecting said drive means to said inner drum for effecting rotationthereof; a pair of coil spring means for supporting each end of saiddrum, said outer drum being free from any other connection to saidsupport frame so that said coil spring means constitute the sole meansfor supporting said Outer drum on said support means; means for securingthe upper ends of said spring means to said support frame and meanssecuring the lower ends of said spring means to the end faces of saidouter drum adjacent to the lower side thereof, the upper ends of thespring means being spaced apart a greater axial distance than the lowerends thereof and the upper ends of the two spring means at each end ofsaid outer drum .being spaced apart in a lateral direction a distancegreater than the lateral spacing of the lower ends of the two springmeans whereby the two spring means at each end of said outer drum areinclined toward each other in a direction toward the lower side of saidouter drum, the lower ends of said spring means being secured to saidouter drum at points close to the lowermost point on said outer drum andin symmetrical positions in a horizontal plane which passessubstantially through the principal axis of the system comprising thedrums and the electrical drive means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,780,036 2/157Dunlap 68--24 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,214,337 11/1959 France. 1,261,973 4/1961 France. 611,156 10/ 1960 Italy.

IRVING BUNEVICH, Primary Examiner. WALTER A, SCHEEL; Examiner.

